


The Truth Will Set You Free

by IngridAnne24



Category: Jane the Virgin (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2016-05-18
Packaged: 2018-06-09 04:01:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6889162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IngridAnne24/pseuds/IngridAnne24
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jane Villanueva is thrown off balance after what happens to Michael, then she finds out something about Petra. Spoilers for the season 2 finale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Truth Will Set You Free

**Author's Note:**

> Ay yi yi this finale. It was good, jawdropping, but also maddening.
> 
> I really want Petra to be okay. I think she will. But I also want her to be happy
> 
> Now, this was difficult because I am very much a Jetra shipper, but I also wanted to be sensitive to Jane/Michael. Michael is a sweet guy, and their relationship is sweet, so I didn't want to shit all over that.

She was numb. The moment she heard the gunshot in the hallway, she knew. A cold chill had spread over her body before she went out, and when she actually looked out into the hallway, seeing Michael on the floor, blood pooling around him, she almost passed out. She thought the worst thing she ever saw was Roman Zazo impaled on an ice sculpture, but seeing her new husband with a gunshot in his chest was worse.

Other people started coming out of their rooms, hearing the commotion. Somebody was calling 911, while someone else was performing CPR on him. It took Jane a moment to realize someone was asking her something.

“Huh? What?”

“I said, do you know him?” The person asked.

Jane nodded silently, then swallowed. “He's my, uh, husband. We just got married.”

The person put a sympathetic hand on Jane's upper arm. A couple minutes later the paramedics showed up and took Michael with them. Michael was still alive, at least. Jane was trying to be positive, but the bullet had gone through his chest, the left side, where his heart was. Whoever shot him, knew what they were doing.

She rode in the ambulance with Michael, but he was unconscious. All she could do was hold his hand and pray. Once they got to the hospital, they took Michael back to surgery, leaving Jane in the waiting room. Again, all she could do was pray. Shortly after that, Xiomara and Alba, along with Mateo, showed up, and they prayed with her. Alba had her rosary beads and let Jane use them. Afterwards, she held Mateo close to her. Just a year ago, he was taken from her and she felt just as awful. But, Mateo came back to her and maybe Michael would too.

The surgery took several hours. Finally, the doctor came out and Jane felt like her heart had stopped and she stopped breathing. She held her breath until the doctor said, “he's okay. He survived the surgery, and while the bullet did hit his heart, we were able to repair the damage. It will be risky for the next few days, but we are hopeful.”

Xiomara gasped beside her, Alba thanked God in Spanish, and Jane finally breathed. All the pressure and stress of the past few hours, of the whole day, drained out of her and she felt exhausted. Tears started streaming down her face, then she thanked the doctor between sharp breaths, and sat down in a waiting room chair. She held Mateo tightly again, and he hugged her back, seemingly sensing his mother's stress.

“Oh, Janey, I'm so happy. But why did this happen?” Xiomara asked, her face pale. She sat down and kissed Jane, then Mateo.

“I don't know, Ma. I just don't know. This awful stuff keeps happening,” Jane said, shaking her head. 

“It is a terrible tragedy,” Alba muttered in Spanish. “But be thankful he is okay.”

“I know, Abuela. I know. I am.”

Alba kissed Jane on the forehead, then said another little prayer, thanking God for saving Michael, and asking God to continue to look over Michael. Some time later, the doctor said they could see Michael, but he was still unconscious. Jane opted to go by herself. When she saw Michael, she almost started crying again, he was so pale. He was hooked up to a breathing machine, among all the other wires attached to him. She pulled up a chair to his bed and sat beside him. She stroked his arm, hoping he would react, but he didn't. Jane sat there for an hour or so before they told her visiting hours were over. 

As she was leaving, something drew her eye to one room she passed. When she looked in, she saw a familiar face; Anezka. Her disdain for Anezka was no secret, but she was still Petra's sister (even though her relationship with Petra was strained at the moment). 

She was about to ask Anezka what was wrong, but then she noticed the breathing tube in Anezka's mouth. The same thing Michael had.

“Anezka, what happened?” She asked, though she knew Anezka probably couldn't answer her. In fact, Anezka didn't move at all. Not even a twitch of her hand. The only things that moved were her eyes, which were moving a lot, frantically. “I'm sure it'll be okay, Anezka. I know it's scary, whatever is happening to you. I'll talk to Petra.”

Anezka looked like she was desperately trying to speak, but nothing was cooperating. Tears formed in her eyes and Jane felt sympathy for Petra's sister.

“Michael is here, so maybe I'll come see you again. Bye, Anezka.” Jane waved awkwardly to Anezka as she left. She then left with her family, back to the hotel. Xiomara asked her if she wanted to stay with her, but Jane declined.

“I need some time alone, Ma. I'll let you know if I need you.”

“Okay, sweetie. Do you want me to take Mateo with me?”

“If you don't mind. Just for a little bit. You be good, Mister Sweetface,” Jane said to Mateo, planting a big kiss on both cheeks.

“You will be okay, Jane,” Alba said to her. “Michael will be okay.”

“Thanks, Abuela.” Then she looked at Xiomara, who had a strange look on her face. “You okay, Ma?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just, you know, all this happening,” Xiomara said absently, waving her hand around.

Before Jane could ask more, Xiomara left with Mateo, followed by Alba. When they were gone, Jane laid down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. She kept seeing Michael's body, blood pooling around him, his pale face. Silence tears ran down her face. After laying there for awhile, she realized she was going to get any sleep at the moment, so she wandered out into the hall.

Petra was out with a bucket for the ice, dressed only in a thin robe. When she saw Jane, she jumped slightly before correcting her posture. That was odd, Jane thought briefly. 

“Jane, I heard about Michael, are you okay? Is he okay?”

“Yeah, uh, he's okay, I think. He survived the surgery,” Jane mumbled.

With some hesitation, Petra hugged Jane. Petra was always a strange hugger, but this one felt odd even for Petra. Was this because of their fighting? Either way, the hug felt even more rigid than normal.

“Oh, Petra, I saw Anezka in the hospital. What happened?” Jane asked, pulling away from Petra.

Something flashed across Petra's face before she nodded sadly. “Yes, it was unfortunate. Something to do with the seizures she was having, she's basically paralyzed. The doctors aren't even sure she'll come out of it.”

“She looked really scared.”

Petra nodded again. “Yes, I'm sure it's scary, being trapped like that.”

“Have you seen Rafael?”

A tight smile briefly appeared on Petra's face before it disappeared. “Um, yes.”

“Where--” But her question was answered when Rafael came out of the room Petra had just come out of. He was wearing only boxers. He froze when he saw Jane, but quickly softened.

“Jane, I'm so sorry about Michael. Is he...”

“He's okay, Rafael. For now.”

Rafael hugged her and whispered another “I'm so sorry” into her hear. Then he whispered, “It'll be okay.”

Petra's hand suddenly appeared between them and she tapped Rafael's side. He broke the hug, but smiled warmly at Jane.

“So, uh, did you guys...” Jane motioned between him and Petra. She was pretty sure she saw Petra smirk.

“Uh,” Rafael cleared his throat.

“Yes, Jane, we did,” Petra interjected, looking pretty proud of herself. Rafael looked more embarrassed than anything.

“Yeah. It happened,” Rafael said, his shoulders slumping. He looked defeated and Jane didn't know what to say to him, especially with Petra hovering there.

“Congratulations?” Jane offered, shrugging slightly.

“Thank you,” Petra said. Jane could see a frown on Rafael's face, but he didn't say anything.

“So, anyway, I'm going to get some sleep, then I'll gonna go see Michael in the morning. I'm assuming you'll go to see Anezka, but do you want me to bring your sister anything when I go?”

Petra waved her hand dismissively. “No, she doesn't need anything. She can't do anything, anyway.”

Jane so badly wanted to say something, because she didn't like how dismissive Petra was being. She was once willing to lie to Jane for her sister, but now, she was acting like she didn't care what happened to Anezka. And she was sleeping with Rafael again. Something was off, but Jane was too tired and stressed to worry about it.

“Good night, Jane,” Rafael said, slightly startling Jane out of her thoughts. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Good night, Rafael. Good night, Petra.”

Petra nodded slightly at Jane before leading Rafael towards their room. Jane stood there in the hallway for a moment before going back to her room. This time, when she laid in bed, she fell asleep almost immediately.

When she woke up the next morning, for a brief moment, she forgot what happened. For a brief moment, she expected Michael to walk into the room, maybe bring her breakfast. Then she remembered.

After eating a small breakfast, she went to the hospital. Michael was still unconscious, but at least he looked less pale. She kissed him on the forehead, said a little prayer, and sat with him for a while. Before she knew it, it was lunch time. A lot of the tension had left her body and she felt like she could eat something, so she headed to the cafeteria. On her way there, she passed Anezka's room. She almost didn't go in, but something pulled her there. When she went inside, Anezka was sleeping. Just as she turned to leave, she heard a noise behind her, like a tiny grunt. When she looked at Anezka again, her eyes were open.

“I talked to Petra. Again, I'm sorry. I wish I could do something for you,” Jane said. She meant it. While her relationship with Anezka wasn't good, she did feel badly for the woman.

Anezka's eyes were wide and darting between Jane's eyes. Jane felt sympathy again and wondered why Petra wasn't here. Between her mother being in prison and her sister in the hospital, Jane thought Petra would at least want to be with Anezka. Instead, she seemed more interested in having sex with Rafael. Maybe Petra hadn't changed after all.

“I have to go, Anezka. I'm sorry.”

Jane left the room and went to the cafeteria. After she got some food, she went back to Michael's room. No change, but she stayed for a little while and took out the notebook she brought with her so she could write down ideas for her thesis. After about two hours, she heard a noise. She looked at Michael and his eyes were fluttering open.

“Michael!” She gasped and sprung to her feet.

He grunted softly and Jane called for a nurse. The nurse that came in checked Michael and determined he could probably breathe on his own, so she removed Michael's breathing tube. He couldn't really talk yet, but Jane didn't care. Michael was awake and breathing and here. She kissed him gently.

“You know I want to ask what happened, but I won't rush you,” Jane laughed softly, tears running down her cheeks. “I'm just so happy you're alive.”

He smiled at her, tearing up as well. Jane took out her notebook again and filled Michael in to what she thinking about for her thesis, while he quietly listened. 

“Of course I'll interview my abuela, but I want to find some other people to talk to. Get a variety of perspectives. How does that sound?”

Michael nodded slightly.

“Oh, this is weird, but Petra's sister, Anezka? She's here too. Something about her seizure causing some sort of stroke and she's paralyzed. I saw her twice and she looks really scared. Oh! And Petra and Rafael are sleeping together again. I caught them last night.”

Michael frowned slightly, but didn't try to say anything so Jane went on. “Something is weird about Petra. Maybe she's just in shock about Anezka, but something was off about her. She's sleeping with Rafael and she doesn't seemed interested in seeing Anezka. Isn't that weird?”

Michael nodded and mouthed 'yeah, it is.'

Jane was so happy Michael was awake she continued talking for at least an hour, before she was shooed away by a nurse. She returned to the hotel and spent some time with Mateo, then her mother.

“How does he look?” Xiomara asked.

“He looks good, considering,” Jane said, bouncing Mateo on her knee. “He can't talk yet, because of the breathing tube, but he seems good.”

“Oh, Janey,” Xiomara sighed. “Before you even got to, you know.”

“I know, Ma, but that's the last thing on my mind. Not everyone can have sex after trauma, like some people.”

Xiomara looked offended, but Jane quickly added, “No, no, not you, Ma. I was talking about Petra. Her sister is in the hospital and she's sleeping with Rafael.”

“Really?” Xiomara's interest was piqued and she slid closer to Jane. “How'd you find out?”

So Jane filled her in. Xiomara's mouth felt open the more Jane talked and when Jane was done, her mother was shaking her head.

“That woman is a mystery. I know I shouldn't be judgmental, but that whole family is a mystery. Are you annoyed she's sleeping with Rafael?”

Jane sighed. “I mean, a little, I guess. I'm not in love with Rafael anymore, but, I don't know, it's nagging at me. Something doesn't seem right. In fact, Petra doesn't seem right.”

“She never feels right to me,” Xiomara mumbled off-handedly.

“Ma, come on. Her sister is in the hospital.”

Xiomara shrugged with an 'eh' then took Mateo from Jane. “He was very well-behaved last night. Walking is tiring him out more, so he slept more.”

“Good. I'm so proud of you, Mister Sweetface.” Jane leaned forward and rubbed her nose against Mateo's. He giggled.

“I remember when you first walked. You did it at the top of stairs and almost fell down them. Luckily, your grandmother caught you. After the shock, we were so proud. You were so cute.”

Jane chuckled and rested her chin on her hand.

“You okay, Janey?”

“Yeah. I'm happy Michael is okay, but I wonder if anything is ever gonna be normal. It seems like ever since I got inseminated, things have been getting weirder and more dangerous. You know I'm so, so happy Mateo is here, but, ever since we met the Solano's...” She sighed.

“I know, Jane. I wish I could say things will get better, but we both know things are just gonna get more complicated.” Xiomara looked down and chewed on her bottom lip.

“Ma?” Jane looked down at her mother's face. “Seriously, what's going on?”

Xiomara lifted her head and tilted it back before looking at Jane. “I might be pregnant.”

Jane quickly rose to her feet. “What?!”

“No yelling, Mateo's here,” Xiomara warned, pointing at the toddler in her arms. “I took a pregnancy test yesterday and it was positive.”

“Ma, oh my god,” Jane groaned, her hands covering her face. “You didn't learn your lesson 25 years ago?”

“Hey, you were a good kid.”

“Don't try to flatter me. Mom, you didn't want kids, but Dad did. And oh my god, Dad, is it his?” When Xiomara shook her head, Jane almost smacked her. Then she gasped. “Esteban?”

Xiomara shushed her, like she was worried Rogelio was somewhere in the room. “Yes, if I really am pregnant, it's his.”

Jane groaned, took a deep breath, and put her hand on Xiomara's arm. “What're you gonna do?”

“I don't know, Janey. I don't. I need some time to think about it.”

Jane was still frustrated, but she rubbed her mom's back. “It's just another thing, I guess.”

“I don't want you worrying about this. Right now, Michael and your thesis are your focus. I'll figure it out, and of course, don't tell your grandmother. I wasn't even going to tell you until I knew for sure what I was going to do.”

“Well, you're bad at keeping secrets.”

Xiomara nodded. “True.”

–

Jane took a nap after Xiomara left. When she woke up, she decided she wanted to talk to Rafael about her thesis. However, when she knocked on the door to the room, Petra answered it.

“Jane.”

“Oh, hey, Petra. Sorry, I was looking for Rafael. I wanted to talk to him about something.”

“He's not here,” Petra said, her eyes narrowed slightly. She was starting to close the door, but Jane stopped her.

“Well, can I talk to you?”

“I'm busy.”

“Petra, I know we've had some problems, but, I do miss talking to you.”

Petra's face softened only slightly, but she did let Jane in. She didn't say anything as Jane walked past her and didn't say anything when she sat down on the couch. Instead, she stared at Jane, expectantly.

“So, uh, I decided on a thesis. It'll be about immigration from Latin countries and the women who come from them.”

“Okay,” was all Petra said. Jane frowned slightly.

“I just wanted to know what you think.”

“Well, this, thesis sounds interesting. Do whatever makes you happy.”

Jane wasn't sure what to say at first. She didn't expect Petra to give her a big, encouraging speech, but she expected some advice. This advice was vague and the opposite of what Jane was hoping for. She even expected Petra to be even a little bit encouraging, but Petra seemed so disinterested.

“Are you okay, Petra?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“You seem a little... I don't know. Are you worried about your sister?”

Petra pursed her lips and one of her eyebrows bounced up. “Yes. It's tragic.”

“Have you heard anything from the doctors?”

“No, but I expect if there's a change they would call me.”

Jane reached out to Petra, but Petra noticeably flinched, so Jane withdrew her hand.

“I'm sorry. I have a lot on my mind.” Then Petra rose to her feet and something went off in Jane's brain. The way Petra stood was not right at all. It wasn't completely obvious, but something about Petra's posture was wrong, like a slight slouch. Petra seemed to notice this herself and corrected it. She stood upright with a more measured posture, more Petra-like, but she still looked strange. She looked down at Jane.

“Is that all?”

Jane rose as well and nodded. “Yes, that's it.”

Petra walked her to the door, said a quick goodbye, and shut the door on Jane. Her brain was trying to work out what she just saw. She sure looked like Petra, but she wasn't acting like Petra. Even when Petra hated Jane she didn't quite treat Jane like that, she still opened up to Jane once in a while. This Petra was distant and awkward.

She was originally going back to the hospital to see Michael, but she stopped in Anezka's room first. Something in the back of her brain was telling her something, and she needed to figure this out.

Anezka was awake and staring at the wall, but when Jane came in, her eyes darted towards Jane.

“Hey, uh, Anezka. Just wanted to see how you're doing,” she said gently. She knew she wasn't going to get a response, other than Anezka's eyes moving. “I just saw Petra.”

Jane was desperately trying to read Anezka's eyes, but when she said 'Petra' Anezka's eyes flickered. She let a minute or so of silence fall over them, and just as Anezka looked away at something else, Jane asked, “Petra?”

Anezka's eyes immediately jumped up in Jane's direction and they widened slightly.

“Are you Petra?”

'Anezka's' eyes looked up, then down, almost as if she was trying to nod with her eyes. 

“Oh my god...” Jane gasped quietly. “What, uh, I don't... this is... Crap.”

Petra closed her eyes and tears leaked out from behind her eyelids. Jane reached over the wiped the tears from Petra's cheeks and Petra opened her eyes. Her eyes looked less frantic than before and she even looked slightly relaxed.

“Did Anezka do this to you?”

Petra made the “nodding” motion with her eyes again.

“I knew she seemed weird. Her accent's gotten good, but she doesn't have you completely down. She had Rafael fooled, apparently, though.”

Petra's eyes went wide again.

“Oh, uh, never mind.”

Petra narrowed her eyes at Jane slightly and Jane sighed. “Anezka slept with Rafael.”

The quiet growling noise Petra made in her throat startled Jane, but she understood. Well, she sort of understood. She couldn't imagine how Petra felt right now.

“This must be so frustrating.”

Petra rolled her eyes and Jane laughed. Jane then pulled up a chair, and after asking Petra if she wanted Jane to talk to her, starting talking about her thesis. Petra, to her credit, managed to show a level of happiness through her eyes. Then Jane told Petra about Michael. Petra couldn't frown, but Jane felt like she was trying to. Instead, she directed her eyes down. At first Jane didn't know where she was looking, but then she realized Petra was looking at her own hand, so Jane took it in her own. It was cold.

“Can you feel this?”

Petra confirmed with her eyes. Jane held Petra's hand between both of her hands and felt an impulse to kiss it, but she didn't. Instead, she rubbed the top of Petra's hand with her thumb. She saw tears form around the edges of Petra's eyes again.

“I need to confront Anezka.”

Petra's eyes widened and moved back and forth. 

“Petra, we need to do something.”

She did the motion again.

“So we're gonna do nothing?”

Petra nodded with her eyes. Jane wished there was a better way to communicate with Petra.

“Are we gonna wait until you can talk?”

Once again, she nodded with her eyes.

“But we don't know how long that'll be, Petra. What if it's months?” 

Petra moved her eyes back and forth, then made a very quiet grunting noise in her throat. Jane had no idea what Petra was trying to say. It was like communicating with Mateo, but at least he could point at things.

“I'm sorry, Petra.”

Petra closed her eyes. The breathing machine she was hooked up to beeped softly, among the beeping noises from the various other machines Petra was hooked up to. Jane tried to ignore all of that. Instead, she leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Petra's. Her eyes were open, so she could see Petra open her eyes. She looked into Jane's eyes, then closed hers again. They stayed like that for several minutes, just like when Petra had give birth. Instead of Petra's gasping breaths and cries, and her sweaty forehead, it was just quiet. 

Some relief swept over Jane. Relief that Petra was not angry with her, that it was something else. It was completely selfish, with Petra's actual situation. But in a weird way, Jane was happy. She was also angry, that Anezka did this to her own sister. She wanted to confront her, but Jane sort of understood why Petra wanted her to wait. Anezka was clearly good at acting, so if Jane rushed in there, accusing her of being Anezka, not Petra, how would she be able to prove that? Rafael might believe her, but would that actually help?

For now, Jane was going to honor whatever Petra had planned and just be there for her. She also had Michael, but Michael could actually move, Petra could not. Jane was the only one who knew Petra was actually Petra. She had to be there for Petra, and she will be.

“I'll be there for you, Petra,” Jane whispered, her forehead still pressed against Petra's. “I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> I seriously almost killed Michael, I really considered it. But like I said before, I wanted to be sensitive. I couldn't do that to both Jane and Michael, and then throw Jane to Petra. That would be a dick move, in my opinion.


End file.
